1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the field of data and video conferencing. More particularly, this invention relates to controlling individual participants' inputs to a data and/or video conference.
2. Background
Computer technology is continuously advancing, resulting in modern computer systems which provide ever-increasing performance. One result of this improved performance is an increased use of computer systems by individuals in a wide variety of business, academic and personal applications. One such use is that of data and/or video conferencing, where users of multiple computer systems in different locations communicate with each other. These different locations can span virtually any distance, such as between two offices in the same building or between two offices in different countries.
The benefits of such conferencing are numerous. Among these benefits is the ability of multiple individuals to effectively and quickly communicate information and ideas to one another over large distances. The information and ideas can be displayed by each computer system, and frequently verbal discussions can accompany the images. Data and video can both be transmitted in a conferencing environment. Typically, data conferencing refers to sharing documents and video conferencing refers to sharing images.
However, several problems can arise in a conferencing environment. One such problem results from the sharing of documents. If multiple users are viewing the same document simultaneously, each of the users may attempt to change the document at the same time. At times this may be beneficial, however at other times this can create substantial confusion among the participants, as well as result in the loss of data. Thus, it would be beneficial to provide a method for enforcing order in a conferencing environment.
Additionally, in many conferencing environments technological limitations in the communications links between the conferencing sites prevents all visual images from all of the conferencing sites from being seen simultaneously. Therefore, a choice must be made as to which conferencing sites are being viewed at any particular time. Thus, it would be beneficial to provide a system which automatically selects which conferencing site is to be viewed at any particular time.
Furthermore, specific users may desire to view specific conferencing sites, such as a site which has not been automatically selected to be viewed. Thus, it would be beneficial to provide a system which allows individuals to select which conferencing sites they view at any particular time.
The present invention provides for these and other advantageous results.